Over the next few decades, Asia is bound to play an increasingly important role in the economic, political, intellectual and scientific world. After Japan, which was the only developed country in the region for a long time, and without even mentioning « dragons » of South-East Asia, whose thriving activity marked the 1970’s and 1980’s, the end of the 1990’s has seen the rise of China and India. These two countries alone consolidate more than one third of the world’s population, and their development seems to open the path for a serious redistribution of power, not just on a continental scale, but also on a global one. In addition, investments being made in education, culture and research are stimulating the emergence and assertion of many highly qualified scientific communities.

In the domain of Social Sciences and Humanities, these communities have managed to regain control over the study of their own societies, cultures, as well as their past and present transformations, studies which Europe had previously tried to dominate from outside, and to its own advantage, during the XIXth century. Asian countries are increasingly opening up to international comparison with the world’s most advanced countries, comparisons in which Asian experiences have become terms of reference, which are compelling Europe to accept to establish a dialogue on equal terms. This will also stimulate the reformulation of a large part of Social Sciences and Humanities questions, conceptualizations, and perspectives which are all connected -although still unformalized- to the empirical study of societies and their transformations.

It is therefore necessary to have a clearer idea of France’s assets in order to put them to better use, and develop such a dialogue, in order to present it as a priority scientific partner for Asia. France, like its European neighbors, has a long tradition of study and research of Asia. The Asian continent owes much to France’s state policy, dating back to the time of Colbert, who created the École des enfants de langue (School of children of language) in 1669. He also left us the missionaries of the MEP’s in 1663, the École des languages orientales (School of Oriental Languages) in 1795, and the École française d'Extrême-orient (French school of the Far East) in 1897. France’s past efforts to reinforce knowledge and erudition, supplemented by consequential hands-on experience in Asian countries, must undoubtedly be pursued, developed and systematized, but they must be more rigorously structured around the contemporary nature of Asian societies and their current transformations. More and more people, especially non-Orientalist researchers, are looking to study Asia within comparative perspectives, and are interested in creating an awareness and an understanding of this part of the world.